A boatman was shot dead in Faisalabad on Sunday allegedly by a proclaimed offender fleeing the police after a robbery.
Bahlak police said that Asif alias Aaso Amraya and his accomplices were fleeing after robbing a house near Bungalow Chowk. They said at the Ravi River bank, they asked a boatman, later identified as Shehbaz, a resident of Chak 597-RB, to take them across the river.
When he refused, they said, one of the robbers shot him. They also set fire to the man’s cottage before fleeing, police said. The police team, headed by Station House Officer Muneer Ahmad, reached the scene shortly afterwards and sent the body for a post-mortem examination.
The SHO said that Asif was wanted by police in Tandlianwala, Bahlak and Okara in several murder and robbery cases.
He said police were looking for him and his accomplices.
Cop injured in shootout
An assistant sub inspector was injured on Sunday in a shootout with some robbers in Hafizabad. The injured policeman was taken to district headquarters hospital, where he was later reported to be out of danger.
Police said ASI Muhammad Tayyab of the Kot Naka police post and his team were on patrol in Thattha Raika village, when they saw some robbers fleeing after a robbery. They said when police chased them, one of the robbers shot at the police. The police shot back. ASI Tayyab was injured in the shootout. The robbers escaped. Police said the robbers included Sajjad who carries a Rs500,000 head money. They said he was wanted for murder and kidnap for ransom.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2013.